This appears to be the name given to the game played in Massachusetts . . . and possibly beyond that . . . in the years before the Dedham rules of 1858 created the Massachusetts Game.

We have about a dozen references to round ball from about 1780 to 1856 -- all in the state of Massachusetts. New England also has references to goal, or goal ball, base, or base ball, and bat-and-ball forf this period. There is no indication if or how these games differed, or whether they are direct antecedents of the Mass Game rules of 1858.